Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, relating to, or possessing intellectual or spiritual knowledge.
- adjective Of or relating to Gnosticism.
- noun A believer in Gnosticism.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Having knowledge; possessing mystic or esoteric knowledge of spiritual things.
- Worldly-wise; knowing; clever or smart.
- [capitalized] Pertaining to the Gnostics or to Gnosticism; cabalistic; theosophic.
- noun A member of one of certain rationalistic sects which arose in the Christian church in the first century, flourished in the second, and had almost entirely disappeared by the sixth.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Eccl. Hist.) One of the so-called philosophers in the first ages of Christianity, who claimed a true philosophical interpretation of the Christian religion. Their system combined Oriental theology and Greek philosophy with the doctrines of Christianity. They held that all natures, intelligible, intellectual, and material, are derived from the Deity by successive emanations, which they called
Eons . - adjective Old Slang Knowing; wise; shrewd.
- adjective (Eccl. Hist.) Of or pertaining to Gnosticism or its adherents.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of, or relating to,
intellectual orspiritual knowledge - adjective Of, or relating to
Gnosticism - noun A
believer inGnosticism
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective possessing intellectual or esoteric knowledge of spiritual things
- adjective of or relating to Gnosticism
- noun an advocate of Gnosticism
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Yet a clue as to why this should be so lies in the fact that the early Church Fathers regarded the word Gnostic as being synonymous with ‘heretic’—and Simon was a Gnostic although, not, as they believed, the founder of Gnosticism.
The Templar Revelation Lynn Picknett 2004
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Yet a clue as to why this should be so lies in the fact that the early Church Fathers regarded the word Gnostic as being synonymous with ‘heretic’—and Simon was a Gnostic although, not, as they believed, the founder of Gnosticism.
The Templar Revelation Lynn Picknett 2004
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April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog muses on a substitute for the term Gnostic - transtheism or supratheism, follows up her discussion and settles on transtheism.
hyperekperissou 2009
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It would be like calling someone a spic or a Hebe—the label Gnostic was made up by the same people who rejected them.
Change of Heart Jodi Picoult 2008
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"There is not the faintest sign that such words have any reference to what we call Gnostic terms."
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14: Simony-Tournon 1840-1916 1913
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Teacher, and supplies converts with practical precepts for their guidance; whilst in the Stromata, or Miscellanies, we have a description of what he calls the Gnostic or perfect Christian.
The Ancient Church Its History, Doctrine, Worship, and Constitution 1854
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He also remains adamantly against what he calls Gnostic thinkers (prophets) and the movements that follow them.
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MEYER: The word "Gnostic" comes from the Greek "gnosis," which means knowledge, but it's not the kind of knowledge that you simply get out of books, but, rather, it is mystical knowledge.
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MEYER: The word "Gnostic" comes from the Greek "gnosis," which means knowledge, but it's not the kind of knowledge that you simply get out of books, but, rather, it is mystical knowledge.
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MEYER: The word "Gnostic" comes from the Greek "gnosis," which means knowledge, but it's not the kind of knowledge that you simply get out of books, but, rather, it is mystical knowledge.
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